SnCl2+HgCl2--->Hg2Cl2+SnCl4
SnCl2 + 2HgCl2 --> Hg2Cl2 + SnCl4
The chemical equation you provided is a balanced equation representing a redox reaction between SnCl2 (tin(II) chloride) and HgCl2 (mercury(II) chloride). Here's how you can balance the equation:
Step 1: Start by balancing the elements that are present in one compound on both sides of the equation. In this case, we have tin (Sn), mercury (Hg), chlorine (Cl), and oxygen (O) as the elements to balance.
Step 2: Balance the elements one by one. Start with elements that appear in only one compound on each side of the equation. In this case, Sn appears only in SnCl2 on the left side and SnCl4 on the right side. So, we start by balancing the tin (Sn) atoms. Place a coefficient of 1 in front of Hg2Cl2 to balance for the 1 Sn on the left side:
SnCl2 + HgCl2 --> Hg2Cl2 + SnCl4
Step 3: Next, balance the chlorine (Cl) atoms. On the left side, there are 2 Cl atoms in SnCl2 and 2 Cl atoms in HgCl2, totaling 4. On the right side, there are 4 Cl atoms in SnCl4 and 2 Cl atoms in Hg2Cl2, also totaling 4. This indicates that the chlorine atoms are already balanced.
Step 4: Finally, check if the equation is balanced. We can see that the left side has 1 Sn, 2 Cl, and 2 Hg atoms, which is equivalent to the right side that has 1 Sn, 4 Cl, and 2 Hg atoms. Therefore, the equation is now balanced:
SnCl2 + HgCl2 --> Hg2Cl2 + SnCl4
Note: Remember, balancing chemical equations requires practice. It involves applying the principles of conservation of mass and ensuring that the number of atoms on each side of the equation remains the same.